


cave walls

by spookykingdomstarlight



Category: Dragon Age: Inquisition
Genre: F/F, Injury, Kissing, Mild Hurt/Comfort, Post-Dragon Age: Inquisition
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-11-21
Updated: 2017-11-21
Packaged: 2019-02-01 00:22:24
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,702
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12693207
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/spookykingdomstarlight/pseuds/spookykingdomstarlight
Summary: Were these the old days, before so many of Herah’s companions had spread to the wind, she might have insisted that Dorian would do just as well, or Solas. Hell, even Cole might have sufficed. But they no longer called Skyhold home and, irony of ironies, Vivienne was the only one who remained. Whether to tie her name more firmly to the Inquisitor’s and the power base she’d built here or simply because she’d grown to like it, Leliana couldn’t fully decide. Perhaps it was both. She hadn’t yet asked, didn’t dare ask; she didn’t want to learn that Vivienne might yet leave. Though Leliana was a master of spies, sometimes, she preferred the road of easy ignorance.If she was to be blindsided, let her be blindsided, and in the meantime, she allowed herself to believe nothing would change.





	cave walls

**Author's Note:**

  * For [hibernate](https://archiveofourown.org/users/hibernate/gifts).



“No offense, darling,” Vivienne said, “but do unhand me before I find it necessary to remove your hand for you.” Despite her words, her voice wavered in a way that Leliana found suspicious and not a little concerning. Vivienne, the great Madame de Fer, the Grand Enchantress of Orlais. Whatever her faults may have been, though Leliana herself had trouble counting them, she never wavered in anything, not in tone nor in action. To hear her do so now, half her body weight pressed against the unrelenting stone of the cave wall behind her, it disconcerted Leliana. And Leliana, Nightingale that she was, hated to be unnerved.

“You are injured,” Leliana replied, as fierce as she. Others might be cowed, but here and now, she would not allow herself to be. “I’ll do what I have to do to help.”

Vivienne sighed, proved her threat an empty one by allowing Leliana’s touch to remain. “It’s a scratch, my dear, and can barely be called one at that.” Her voice softened just a touch. Were Leliana not such an experienced player of the same games Vivienne had long ago mastered, she might not have heard the change at all. Instead, she prided herself on noting the subtle shifts in Vivienne’s diction, her delivery. Doing so had become Leliana’s favorite pastime, and she was good at it. “I brought it upon myself by being so careless.”

“You did no such thing.” And that much was true. “If I hadn’t so foolishly—”

“Hush, it had to be done.” Imperious, she pulled herself free of Leliana’s grasp and gestured toward the pack Leliana carried slung across her shoulder. “We got what we needed and now we can get back to civilization. I’m sure the Inquisitor will be pleased with the result. Though perhaps a nip from a healing draught would be in order.”

“That might be the first sensible thing you’ve said all day.”

Vivienne rarely smiled freely, saving such an expression for those precious moments in which she felt genuine happiness. The only reason Leliana knew about this was because Vivienne had seen fit to tell her; late at night, when few still roamed Skyhold’s ever-improving halls, they sometimes spared a moment for one another. Over drinks and talk of the past, Leliana would speak of the Warden and the Blight, a smattering of earlier tales, the happier ones anyway. In turn, Vivienne shared glimpses of her own vulnerabilities: Bastien, her fears of what the Templars had become, favorite techniques for tweaking obnoxious nobles. Those times had become priceless treasures to Leliana, who hoarded information the way a dragon hoarded the bones of its dead enemies.

She couldn’t say as much to Vivienne, of course. That wasn’t how this particular game worked. No, at best, she could do what she was doing now. Actions, not words, that was the best way forward. It was the way Vivienne would best appreciate. Leliana had already proved her proficiency with words, after all. And yet, Vivienne still hid from her. Words were not enough. They’d shared stories; Leliana wanted to share more. Ideally with Vivienne in one piece and no longer in danger because Leliana had seen fit to take this task for herself instead of allowing the Inquisitor to delegate it further than she already had. _Take Vivienne with you_ , she’d said, and though it had been phrased as a polite offer, Leliana had known it for the demand it truly was.

Were these the old days, before so many of Herah’s companions had spread to the wind, she might have insisted that Dorian would do just as well, or Solas. Hell, even Cole might have sufficed. But they no longer called Skyhold home and, irony of ironies, Vivienne was the only one who remained. Whether to tie her name more firmly to the Inquisitor’s and the power base she’d built here or simply because she’d grown to like it, Leliana couldn’t fully decide. Perhaps it was both. She hadn’t yet asked, didn’t dare ask; she didn’t want to learn that Vivienne might yet leave. Though Leliana was a master of spies, sometimes, she preferred the road of easy ignorance.

If she was to be blindsided, let her be blindsided, and in the meantime, she allowed herself to believe nothing would change.

Handing over the draught, Leliana watched as Vivienne took a prim, proper sip of the restorative potion. It wouldn’t heal the wound, but it would keep her upright and mobile until they reached sanctuary. “How do you feel?” Leliana asked, taking the remaining portion back. The glass bulb of the container felt warmer than before—or perhaps Leliana was merely imagining the lingering warmth of Vivienne’s fingers.

“Better.” There was that smile again, the one Leliana so treasured. “Thank you, my dear.”

“Will you allow me to bandage it at least?” Frowning, she eyed Vivienne’s dress and the small, red stain that already marred it. That was pure sea silk, pale, yet heartier than it appeared at first glance. With the many enchantments and charms Vivienne used, she hardly needed more to protect herself. Except this once, Leliana supposed.

“Perhaps I wish the wound to breathe,” Vivienne replied before sighing, as sure a sign of acquiescence as Leliana could hope to expect. Rummaging in the pack, she retrieved a roll of cloth that would have to do. The beige linen would do little to truly help Vivienne, but it made Leliana feel better to simply be doing something. Spreading the torn fabric of the dress apart, she shoved a thick square of the scratchy, boring bandage in the space left behind. It didn’t immediately soak through with blood. That was something Leliana could be thankful for.

To think, she’d only meant to gather some intelligence for the Inquisitor and stretch her legs; she so rarely took her own missions anymore. She’d thought a little air would do her good. Her work back at Skyhold was too important, but this, too, was important. Anything she could find out regarding Solas’s whereabouts, his spies. It was all important. And Leliana could yet trust only a few. Rebuilding her network would take time and she relished the challenge.

She just wished Vivienne hadn’t been hurt in the process.

“Sometimes, I think you might think too hard,” Vivienne said, bending Leliana’s thoughts away from her worries about what could have been—and might still be. Considering the lives they led, it wasn’t impossible.

“There is no such thing.”

“I wouldn’t have thought so either if I hadn’t met you.” Her head tilted thoughtfully and her eyes flickered down to Leliana’s lips and back up again. “But you are definitely a unique creature in Thedas, and probably beyond, too.”

When Leliana didn’t answer—for once, she wasn’t sure _how_ to answer—Vivienne laughed lightly and wrapped her hand around Leliana’s. Where Leliana’s had grown rough despite every attempt to avert it, Vivienne’s remained soft and smooth, dry and comforting. If only they could always touch so intimately. Face heating, no doubt growing red, too, Leliana looked away and allowed herself one brief squeeze before she tried pulling away. Perhaps her embarrassment wouldn’t be visible within the dimness of the cave. She could only hope so.

Much to her surprise, Vivienne held tight. “Don’t be so foolish,” she said, a teasing lilt that Leliana might never tire of. “For a nightingale, you can be quite obvious.” She then lifted her other hand and smoothed her thumb over Leliana’s cheek, her forehead. “And did you know you get a furrow between your eyes when you worry? It’s charming.”

“Vivienne,” Leliana answered, her heart in her throat. She hadn’t expected this when they’d set out this morning, nor after they were surprised by a handful of lingering terrors on the road home—still, even after all this time, the Inquisitor sometimes heard whispers of rifts that remained open. She did her best to seal each and every one of them, but it was a slow-progressing project. “What are you—”

“I’m doing something I should have done a long time ago.”

And with that, she leaned forward and captured Leliana’s mouth with her own. Surprise stopped her from responding immediately and gave Vivienne the upper hand. She took it with the same degree of seriousness that she took everything, going slow and methodical as she held Leliana close. Her heart thudded, blood pounding in her ears all the while. She’d felt this way before, back when she was a young woman, free of worry and care with only love and a sense of adventure in her heart. Though it wouldn’t be true to say she missed being that girl, it also wasn’t true to say she was sad to see that she still existed somewhere inside of her. And that Vivienne had been the one to reawaken her.

Moments could have passed, or days. Leliana wouldn’t have known. But as soon as Vivienne let her go, she swayed a little, following Vivienne the short distance between them to steal a few more seconds of bliss from her. “Oh, Vivienne.” Her fingers brushed against her own tingling lips, perhaps to confirm the truth of what just happened. “You do know how to surprise me.”

“A talent that isn’t too widespread I should hope.” She grasped Leliana’s hand again. “Come, let’s get back to Skyhold. We can finish this discussion there.” She raised her eyebrows. “I’m sure that conversation will be most fascinating, will it not be?”

Leliana smiled, allowing a wicked curl to form at the corner of her mouth despite how stunned she remained. Leliana was still herself after all. She knew how to flirt with the best of them. She didn’t say anything in response; she didn’t have to.

Even if the trip back was long and arduous, made all the more so by the anticipation that squeezed and shifted inside of Leliana’s chest and spread throughout the rest of her in fits and starts, she wouldn’t have traded it for anything except perhaps the return of Vivienne’s beautiful skin unmarred by a mistake of Leliana’s making.

And even then, given the resulting kiss, Leliana had to think long and hard about it.


End file.
